does anyone else out there go to bed at around 4am and wake up at 1pm?

Question

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but it's sooo frustrating for me being completely out of sync with the rest of the world! I have been trying for years now to go to bed at a decent time and wake up before NOON, but I just can't seem to naturally do that. I have horrible insomnia at night, but then end up sleeping through half the day. Obviously, I don't have to wake up early for work, because I'm a student. However, I have some early classes this semester (read 10am) and I am so panicked to the extent that I only get like 1hr of sleep before class and then go through the day feeling like a zombie. When nighttime comes I absolutely can't relax because I keep telling myself that I absolutely must get some rest....so I end up not being able to fall asleep util the am hours again!!! I am sick of this vicious cycle. Anyone out there going through this? I dream more than anything of having a NORMAL schedule!!! I feel like such an outcast...

Thank you everyone! It makes me feel so much better to hear from people in the same situation. I guess sometimes all you need is to know that there are others like you - especially when you feel so out of whack with the world.

Answer 1

My natural sleeping schedule is way off from the rest of the world too; I have a season job in tourism so when I'm off work in winter I often go to bed around 8 am or later and sleep during the day. But I don't mind as much as you do; while I don't like it, I can usually go to sleep earlier when I have to, and when I work normal hours for a while it gets a little easier -just a little, I never 'get used to it' as so many people have suggested would happen, even though I've kept normal schedules for months at a time. If I've got a brief break of 3 or 4 days that I don't have to get up, I'm totally back where I started.

What I've found is that when you start to worry, when you start to try to sleep too hard, that's when you keep yourself awake. I don't do that for normal classes or work but I have done it for special events, when I was going out or had an important test or something. Try to relax anyhow, just try not to think about going to sleep too much. Can you read yourself to sleep?

Another thing I sometimes do is I'll be tired when I come home from work (especially if I stayed up late the night before anyhow). Then I'll just eat, go to sleep from say 8 or 9 or so, wake up at 1 or 2, get up, get on the internet and then I catch a couple more hours in the early morning before I gotta go to work. I must add, I don't have a social life in the evenings, I prefer internetting or reading over going out no matter what time of the day or night! So I can hold a schedule like that... if you like to hang with friends it'd be difficult to sleep evenings....

Answer 2

I can't believe there's another person out there on the 4am-1pm schedule! I hate it too, but for some reason it just seems natural to me. For myself, I think I'm a 'night person' and get more productive the later it gets, so I end up staying up until 3 or 4, and then am totally bagged the next morning! When I have a job or school and have to get up at a normal time, I have to 'reset' my brain to a different schedule, which is fairly difficult and frustrating. I find the best way to do this is force yourself to get up early after staying up late, so that you are really tired all day. That way, when 11pm or so comes around, you are actually tired enough to just go to sleep. I try to bank on 7-8 hrs per night ( I don't wake up on my own, I would sleep for 16 hours straight without my alarm/fiancee to wake me up!)... anything more than that makes me feel more tired throughout the day.

I find one of the worst parts of being like this is missing out on time with the people you love. I miss time in the morning because I sleep in, and time at night, because they are sleeping. That leads to some weird loneliness sometimes! There's lots of other problems that I'm sure you're aware of...

Good luck with resetting your brain. I'm fairly sure that we have programmed ourselves to follow this type of schedule, and we now think that it's just a unique genetic characteristic. I think that we can 'de-program' the dysfunction.

Answer 3

You are a night owl. If you want to get up at the same time as others,start out in small increments to acclimate your body to the changes.

Set your alarm for bedtime tomorrow at 3am,and wake up when you usually do to go to classes.

After 3 days of this, set your clock to go to bed at 2am.

Every 3 days go to bed one hour earlier until you have reached 11pm. That will be your target bedtime.Take a benedryl before bed.

When you get into bed, don't think about going to sleep. Imagine a trip you might like to take. Imagine it out, the entire trip. Next nite imagine a garden you will make down to the last detail.

If you can't get to sleep, don't worry about it. Just relax and realize that you CAN function with little sleep. Then keep you routine.

Be sure in your sleep area it is dark and quiet.

Gradually your body will adjust, but don't break your cycle or you may have trouble sleeping again.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I have the exact same problem. Except now it's worse to the point that I'm waaaay off wack. I go to sleep 5-7 am and wake up around 4-5 pm. It started off at a 2am bedtime and waking up around 1pm. Then I started school with morning classes around your time and I ended up dropping every single class. When night time comes I can't go to sleep. The best thing that I've ever heard was from one of my Psy proffessors, he said that it's your natural cycle. He said he had the same problem whne he was in college and he ended up having to take night classes. He said not to fight it because it's yur natural schedule... and he said he's still like that to this day ( 30 yrs later or so). But I do feel comletely outa whack. My bf goes to bed at 10pm and I feel bad that I go to bed when he's waking up.

Answer 5

When I'm not working that seems to be my normal sleep pattern. Even now, I find that I go to sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning and want to sleep until the afternoon. I feel guilty, sure, but it's not hurting anyone and I do get things done that I need to do - just on a different schedule.

It's extremely difficult for me to get to work on time (8:00 a.m.) on the weekdays because I can't get to sleep before at least 1:00 in the morning and have to get up at 6:00. I just don't get enough sleep and I sometimes fall asleep at my desk on my lunch hour or I go home and fall asleep as soon as I get in the house for a couple of hours.

I have been told by everyone that I need to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day - even on the weekends - in order to establish a healthy sleep pattern. I wouldn't worry about it so much except that (1) my kids are starting to sleep that way too and (2) my mate has a wonderful schedule of going to sleep at midnight and waking up fresh and alert at 6:30. I don't know how he does it, but he just pops right out of bed without an alarm every single morning. I feel guilty making him wait around for me to get up when half the day is already gone. It makes me feel lazy, even though I'm not. I need at least 8 hours of sleep and I just don't seem to be able to get it and I always feel sleepy - except in the evening, when I'm supposed to go to sleep!

Answer 6

I work till 2am. I'm up till 7am. Sleep till 3:00. Then I do it all again the next day. Wish I could come home and sleep with my sweetie but I just can't get to sleep.

Answer 7

i fill you on that one. i fall asleep between 4-6 am then have to get up and start my day w/ my daughter at 7am. I'm also a student, work full-time and I'm currently losing my mind. i figure if your getting enough rest and getting things done don't sweat it your just a night owl.

Answer 8

SAME


last night I was still trying to fall asleep, and my alarm went off. arrgh.

I wish I was asleep right now.

Answer 9

6 am to 4pm